Your tool to be a Geek.

Run Android Apps on Ubuntu.

The popular technique of creating Virtual Device and using Android SDK doesn’t appeal to many. So here’s a workaround which might not be as geeky as the former.

Update: A lot of people have been successful at first attempt, some at second and some have been unsuccessful throughout. No reason known. Also, BlueStacks has been dubbed as “trash” by Wine Req.

Prerequisites: Wine.

Just as mentioned earlier, you need to have Wine installed on your Ubuntu. Open the Ubuntu Software Centre and search for Wine and install it.

Step 1: Download BlueStacks for Windows which is an .exe file. Proceed to the properties of the downloaded file and check the Allow executing file as Program .

Step 2: Proceed to Configure Wine from Unity Search. By default, wine will act like Windows XP, but users can change this to all or almost any Windows version. The next tab over is used for configuring DLL files. The “Graphics” tab controls the look of the Windows applications. The “Desktop Integration” tab allows users to change the theme of Windows applications. The controls under this tab also allow users to configure folder locations. This means when Windows applications need to place data in the documents folder, users can choose what folder will be the Windows document folder. Next, the “Drives” tab contains options for the Windows drives. Users can control what directory will behave like drive C.The “Audio” is for audio. Finally, the last tab, “About”, contains the license and version information for wine. At the bottom of the window, users can type the owner and company of wine like they would for a Windows system. Once all of the settings have been configured, press “Apply” and exit the program

Step 3: Return to the .exe file and right click and choose to install using Wine. Proceed to the installation step and keep in mind that now you are installing something on Windows. After the installation is completed you must see BlueStacks in Unity Dash.

Step 4: Download your required APK and open BlueStacks. Set up the app player as per your needs and then install the APK.
Voila, now you can install and run any Android App on Ubuntu. And this technique is universal, i.e. it will work for any other Linux Distribution.

This technique, thus saves you a lot of time and is probably the best for those who just want to install apps like Whatsapp, though users can install games too. Personally, I found games like Jetpack Joyride more enjoyable on this set up.